A contextualized mission approach for engaging the Hausa Muslims in Uyo, Nigeria through intentional friendship

Abstract

This research explored a contextualized mission approach for engaging the Hausa Muslim community in Uyo, Nigeria, through intentional friendship. It was observed that conventional evangelistic methods, such as public preaching and open-air evangelism, often yield minimal results among Hausa Muslims due to their deep-rooted culture and religious perceptions. Many in the community view Christianity, particularly the Seventh-day Adventist Church, with suspicion; this is often due to misunderstandings of its beliefs and a lack of sensitivity to their worldview. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived barriers to effective evangelism among Hausa Muslims in Uyo, explore mission strategies appropriate for their context, and develop a relational approach, which can be implemented for engaging them with the gospel. A descriptive research design was employed, involving interviews and focus group discussions. Based on the findings, the researcher developed a friendship-based evangelism model aimed at building trust and relationships as a bridge for gospel outreach. The study found that intentional friendship can be a highly effective method for reaching Hausa Muslims. This approach leads to a noticeable change in the community’s perception of the Adventist Church, and opened doors for spiritual conversations. The results demonstrated that relational evangelism builds trust, fosters mutual respect, and paves the way for meaningful gospel engagement. The study concluded that building intentional friendships is important to reaching the resistant community, like the Hausa Muslims in Uyo. It is recommended that the Church should train members in relational witnessing on how to communicate the gospel in a culturally sensitive manner.